Ms. Jeromin, even when decorating just one tree, the worst thing about the fairy lights is because they always knot. How do you see it
Karin Truscheit
Editor in the section “Germany and the World”.
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I can not confirm that.
After removing the chains, it is important to roll them up like a ball of wool by hand, piece by piece, from beginning to end.
Finally, the connector is placed on top of the ball.
If the fairy lights are packed away until next year, you can actually bring them back to the tree without any problems.
The Christmas trees in your home are enough to decorate a small town. Do you have enough space?
We live in a big old farmhouse.
The trees are spread over 15 rooms over two floors.
There are 20 trees in the bedroom alone and 39 trees in the kitchen.
It has to be a big kitchen.
The trees are of different sizes.
The smallest are 20 to 30 centimeters tall, the largest tree is 3.50 meters tall.
It hangs horizontally from the ceiling in the hallway above.
How did it all start with the trees?
It started about ten years ago.
My husband said at the time: “With a tree, Christmas is always over so quickly when you leave the room.” We had the obligatory Advent arrangement in the kitchen and a tree in the living room.
But every year a few trees were added.
And for the past three years you have repeatedly set a new world record in the category “Most decorated Christmas trees in one place”. How were you discovered?
We weren't working towards a record.
We do this for ourselves because we think it's nice.
It only became known in 2015 when we invited a few neighbors outside to a party with a pavilion and oven during Advent.
Then someone went into the house, came out again and said: “You have to see that!” We had decorated 110 trees.
The neighbors drove the NDR crazy, which then published an article about us.
And in 2018 the record institute for Germany came to us for the first time.
The first record was in 2018 in January at the end of the season, the second record in 2018 at the start of the next season in December.
Since then, have you held the record?
Yes, the institute always checks the competition to see if anyone else is as crazy as we are.
Where do you store the trees when it's not Christmas?
We have a 100 square meter attic, so there's a lot of space.
The decoration is stowed in around 500 boxes.
Can't you just put the trees away when they are decorated?
That doesn't work, decorated they don't fit through the narrow hatch to the attic.
We have to remove everything beforehand.
When do you start decorating?
Always on August 1st.
That goes on until the first Advent.
It takes us two weeks just to bring down the trees.
Then the fairy lights are hung up and wired, there are a total of 47,000 lights.
From the end of September there will be decorations, we have 72,000 balls alone, they all have to be put on the trees!
And on the first Advent at 4.30 p.m. it's time to plug it in!
It's so nice when everything lights up!
You don't need a single light in the whole house.
How does permanent adornment fit into your everyday life?
For us it's relaxation after work, we listen to the radio or radio plays, everyone decorates themselves like that, there are always new creations.
My husband is a cook. As a kitchen manager, he usually works early and is home in the afternoon, so he can get started right away.
I'm a nurse and I do this between my shifts.
Do you sometimes think: I really don't feel like decorating this year?
No never!
On the contrary, we look forward to it every year.
Do you have a favorite tree under which gifts are given on Christmas Eve?
No, there is no favorite or Christmas Eve tree.
Giving presents is very nasty with us at the kitchen table.
How long will the trees stay adorned?
The lights will be switched on for the last time on January 6th and dismantling will take place on January 7th, which will last until the end of February.
What about Easter, is it also decorated?
No, hardly at all.
Everything that we usually have in terms of decoration throughout the year fits in a box.
After Christmas we tend to have a deco-free time.
However, we also have a Christmas tree that is completely decorated for Easter: Easter eggs, rabbits, chicks, lambs.
They generally have a lot of themed trees.
Yes, including Star Wars trees, one in black, that's the Darth Vader tree, then four white Stormtrooper trees.
Then we have a Minions tree, a Grinch tree, a Bundesliga tree, a rubber duck tree, one with only bow beads.
A corona tree?
That shouldn't be missing.
Last year a friend decorated it for us with little knitted masks.
How high are your electricity bills during the Christmas season?
This is very limited, we only pay 80 to 85 euros more for the six weeks.
We only use LED lamps.
Do you know the film "Schöne Bescherung" with Chevy Chase?
Of course, one of our favorite films.
But that in the city, as in the film, the lights go out because of the gigantic Christmas lights on the house - that can't happen to us because of the LEDs.
Where can you find your decoration?
Everywhere, we buy a lot on the Internet, but we also like to buy it in the garden centers in Holland.
The Dutch like to decorate and much more than we Germans.
There we find things that don't exist here.
For example?
Neon colored Christmas balls.
Of course, this is not for everyone.
We have some terribly kitschy things, with us there is a lot under the trees: reindeer, Santa Clauses, angels, old cardboard boxes packed as gifts.
We like the lavish.
I always say: “A tree with 20 balls is not decorated, there have to be 500 on it.” And many visitors who have already visited us think it's great, from young to old.
Will you have more trees in the future?
Definitely.
We have a couple of trees in the attic that haven't been unpacked yet.
444 is far from over.